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 Curator's Introduction
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Shaping a children's agenda and ensuring equitable access to recreation services are issues now facing Toronto City Council. Public interest in the free time of Toronto's youth dates back more than a century. Which social and physical conditions stirred this interest? What was wrong with unorganized play? How were community organizations involved in managing play? What did advocates hope to achieve through municipal intervention? Where did civic action take place, and what material impact did it have on the city? These questions are explored in "Playing by the Rules." The exhibit traces the rise of a municipal role in providing leisure facilities and programs for Toronto's children — at hockey rinks and protected beaches, supervised playgrounds and library story hours, school social centres and Saturday morning art classes. "Playing by the Rules" is partly about how youngsters amused themselves in Toronto during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is also a visual record of adult attitudes toward, and actions on behalf of, children and play. It chronicles the growth and diversification of spaces and staff dedicated to meeting juvenile needs. The City ran one children's recreation program — the free bathing project — during the late 1890s. By the mid-1930s, civic institutions offered a wide range of services and had become the dominant force in organizing children's leisure. While many problems persisted, Toronto had achieved fame for enlarging the recreational opportunities of its boys and girls. Wayne Reeves, guest curator This site draws on an exhibit mounted at The Market Gallery of the City of Toronto Archives from March 7 to June 21, 1998. A copy of the exhibit catalogue, which includes the curator’s essay, is available for viewing at the City of Toronto Archives. |
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©2001. City of Toronto |
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